


Protective Instincts

by vix_spes



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-06-22
Updated: 2011-06-22
Packaged: 2018-05-01 08:50:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,224
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5199674
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vix_spes/pseuds/vix_spes
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Gwaine had never met anyone quite like Hunith ... with the exception of her son Merlin.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Protective Instincts

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the following prompt at gwaine_quest : Merlin goes to visit his mother (Gwaine tags along for protection or some such). Hunith sees something's going on between Gwaine and Merlin and corners Gwaine to ask him about his intentions towards her son.

Gwaine couldn’t help but be amused by the look on Merlin’s face when he arrived in the stables carrying a pack and dressed in the clothes that he had worn prior to becoming a Knight of Camelot. Worry and suspicion warred for dominance on Merlin’s face and Gwaine could practically read the litany of thoughts running through his head. For his own amusement (and just to tease Merlin for the sheer hell of it), he didn’t say anything just yet. He simply started to tack up his horse, hearing silence behind him as Merlin stopped tacking up his own horse. Mentally, he slowly started counting the seconds, knowing that with Merlin’s insatiable curiosity he wouldn’t be able to keep his mouth shut for long. He was right of course. Barely twenty seconds had elapsed before he heard Merlin’s tentative voice behind him.

“Er, Gwaine? What are you doing? Where’s your uniform? You need to be here when Lord Bors arrives. Arthur’s going to need you here.”

Gwaine carried on tacking up his horse, avoiding the questions and making sure that he stayed with his back turned to Merlin. He didn’t know what it was because Merlin couldn’t really lie to save his life yet he always knew when Gwaine was lying to him. 

“Actually, it was Arthur’s idea that I come with you. He seemed to think that you’d get yourself in trouble if he let you go by yourself so I volunteered to be your guard dog.” 

He kept his tone light and joking in the hope that Merlin wouldn’t see through his lie. Well, it wasn’t really a lie; there was more than a slight element of truth to what he had said. Arthur had been concerned about Merlin making the trip back to Ealdor by himself, despite the fact that he had done it several times before. Arthur had wanted to go himself but it wasn’t an option with the unexpected visitors. Besides, he’d had a run-in with Lord Bors a few years ago and it hadn’t gone too well; he’d had to make a run for it with Lord Bors shouting after him that if he ever saw Gwaine again or if he even heard that Gwaine had entered his lands he would be thrown in the dungeons indefinitely.

Gwaine hadn’t been particularly devastated (it wasn’t the first time that had happened and it certainly wasn’t the last) but he had lamented the fact that he’d lost a particularly fine watering hole in The Dog and Bear. He’d really liked that tavern; good mead and some very attractive barmaids. He’d mentioned his slight predicament to Arthur when it had been announced that Lord Bors would be visiting Camelot and, when Arthur had been able to stop laughing, he had simply rolled his eyes and said that he had expected something like this to happen much sooner. He had then suggested that Gwaine accompany Merlin, dually satisfying the need to get Gwaine out of Camelot and also to (hopefully) ensure that Merlin didn’t get into trouble on the way to Ealdor seeing as he was still fairly useless with a sword.

~*~

Merlin couldn’t remember the last time that he had had this much fun as he tried to catch his breath after (yet another) exhilarating horseback race that he had won by a narrow margin. The last few years, the only times that he had left Camelot had been on some sort of mission or quest of some sort, to stop an evil plot (no doubt thought up by Morgana or Morgause), a hunt that he was being dragged out on by a sadistic Arthur or to save somebody (generally Arthur). It was a real pleasure to be out of Camelot with no purpose but to get back to Ealdor. He had been positive that Arthur was going to rescind his permission for Merlin to go visit his mother (and deliver a variety of potions and salves that Gaius had made up) when it was announced that Lord Bors would be visiting Camelot unexpectedly, just when Merlin was due to be in Ealdor. He had been amazed when Arthur had insisted that he could still have his week off plus the travelling time to go home. It had hit him then that he didn’t really consider Ealdor to be home anymore. 

Camelot was home now.

With the exception of his mum, all the people who were important to him; Arthur, Gaius, Gwaine and Lancelot all lived in Camelot and it had become his home over the last four years or so.

He snuck a sideways glance at Gwaine, wondering why he was able to accompany Merlin all of a sudden. He couldn’t help but wonder if Gwaine’s sudden desire to accompany him to the village where he grew up, a village without a tavern in the arse end of nowhere on the border between Camelot and Cenred’s kingdom was something to do with the sudden announcement of Lord Bors’ visit.

“So, I don’t suppose you coming to visit Ealdor with me has something to do with the arrival of Lord Bors does it?”

Gwaine groaned. “What did Arthur say to you? I should have known that he couldn’t keep his big mouth shut.”

“Arthur didn’t say anything. I just think it’s a bit suspicious that as soon as Lord Bors announces that he’s coming to Camelot, you’re suddenly available to come with me to Ealdor. Don’t try telling me that it’s just because Arthur said I need protection.”

“There may have been an incident several years ago which involved a lovely little tavern called The Dog and Bear in Lord Bors’ land and a lot of mead. I may then have flirted outrageously with his daughter ... and propositioned his son. He said if he ever saw me again he’d throw me in his dungeons. We may be in Camelot but I’m not taking any chances.”

He rolled his eyes at Merlin’s sniggers and swiftly changed the subject.

“Arthur made some comment about your mum’s cooking?” Gwaine had that sly look on his face that gave away the fact that he was digging for gossip.

Merlin just groaned. “When we came here to fight Kanaan and his mercenaries Arthur took a dislike to mum’s cooking. I mean, it’s not that bad, well it’s not brilliant but she does what she can. It’s just not what you’d be expecting after the food on offer in Camelot. We’ll have to sleep on the floor as well. I mean, we’ll have blankets but there aren’t enough beds for all of us.” He couldn’t keep the apologetic tone out of his voice.

“I’m not some spoilt princess like Arthur Merlin. I haven’t spent my whole life living off the fine dining that Camelot has to offer. I’m sure it’s not going to be worse than some of the things I’ve had to eat. Besides, I’m used to slumming it on floors, whether they’re inside or out in the forest.”

He finished his sentence with a wink that had Merlin blushing and cursing the fact that Gwaine’s flirting had him reacting like this. There was no way that he was going to hide his crush on the knight from his mum if Gwaine kept on like this.

~*~

Merlin couldn’t quite understand the nerves that fluttered in his stomach as they entered Ealdor. It was the first time that he had been back since Kanaan’s men had been driven away and the first time that he had seen his mother in over three years. It didn’t seem as though anything had changed. They had rebuilt everything just as it had been and Merlin was reassured by that. Part of the nerves, he knew, could be attributed to the fact that he was introducing Gwaine to his mother. She had met Arthur before but that had been under completely different circumstances; there hadn’t been the opportunity to actually sit and talk (he couldn’t help but snort at the memory of Arthur sat in their little house eating his mum’s cooking) as they were completely focused on defeating Kanaan and his thugs.

Gwaine was different.

It had taken him time to become friends with Arthur. Even now, there were barriers between them, not least the fact that Arthur didn’t know about his magic. He had liked Lancelot immediately and his friendship with Lancelot benefitted from the fact that Lancelot knew about his magic and he simply accepted that it was part of Merlin. Gwaine might not know about Merlin’s magic (although Merlin was sure that the knight had his suspicions), but their friendship had been immediate in its development and, in its own way, was truer than the friendship that he shared with Lancelot. While he had kept in contact with Lancelot after he had had to leave Camelot, Gwaine had willingly risked his life to help Merlin simply because Merlin had asked him to. Somewhere along the line, the friendship had developed into feelings not just of friendship, but of wanting something more building on the immediate attraction he had felt that first morning when he had walked in on Gwaine half-naked in his bed.

He couldn’t help the grin that spread across his face as he saw his mother appear from the house that he had grown up in, and was struck once more, by the relief that he had been able to save her from Nimueh all those years ago. He knew that she was going to see straight through him and know precisely how he felt about Gwaine but that was the least of his worries. He had lost Balinor before he had had the opportunity to know him so Hunith was the only parent that he had had, even though Gaius had done an admirable job of standing in as his surrogate father since he had first moved to Camelot. It suddenly struck him just how desperately he wanted Hunith to approve of Gwaine as he moved forward the last few feet before dismounting. He had barely got off his horse before he was wrapped in his mum’s arms and struggling to breathe.

“Hi mum.” He hugged back until he started to run into problems. “Mum. Need air.”

She stepped back but didn’t let go of him completely, running her hand over his hair, kissing his cheek and exclaiming how well he looked (although she complained that he looked skinnier than ever, something he couldn’t really deny). He blushed, knowing that Gwaine was watching all of this and no doubt listening to every word that was being said. He saw that his mum had spotted Gwaine over his shoulder and was looking at him expectantly, waiting for an introduction.

“Mum, this is Sir Gwaine, one of the knights of Camelot. Arthur asked him to come with me to make sure that nothing happened on the way.” Merlin decided to leave out the little bit of information about Gwaine trying to avoid Lord Bors; he did want his mum to like the knight. “Gwaine, this is my mum Hunith.”

He watched in amusement as Gwaine turned on the charm that he used frequently on the girls in the marketplace of Camelot (and that Merlin desperately wished the knight would use on him in a serious rather than joking manner), taking Hunith’s hand and kissing it as he told her what a pleasure it was to finally meet her. He wasn’t convinced that it had worked judging by the look of scepticism on his mum’s face as she welcomed Gwaine to Ealdor. Admittedly, he was completely different to the only other man he’d brought home to meet his mother (Arthur). When Arthur had joined him along with Morgana and Gwen, the prince had been in his chainmail, armed to the teeth and his whole demeanour had screamed that he was royalty and was there to be obeyed. Gwaine, on the other hand, just looked like a rogue albeit a very good looking and charming rogue. Even when he was dressed in armour and wearing the crimson cloak of Camelot he managed to look like a rogue but in the clothes that he had worn previously, there was no doubt about it. He could see his mum’s eyes lingering on the well worn but practical clothes, the windswept locks and the tantalising peek of necklace through the open laces of his shirt. He dragged his eyes away reluctantly and blushed furiously as he caught his mum’s knowing glance. With any luck she’d at least let him eat before interrogating him.

~*~

To Gwaine’s amusement, he had been in Ealdor for three days before he was confronted by Hunith. He’d been surprised by how much he had enjoyed his time here, especially considering that there wasn’t a tavern for miles around. He’d even made himself useful willingly; doing the tasks that Merlin couldn’t such as re-thatching the roof. The best thing had been getting to spend time with Merlin when neither of them had constraints on their time; Gwaine wasn’t tied to his duties as a knight (and thus the required proper behaviour) and Merlin wasn’t at Arthur’s beck and call all hours of the day and night. They had spent time exploring the surrounding countryside with Merlin showing Gwaine all the spots where he had played as a child, despite the tinge of sadness that they now held following Will’s death.

Gwaine had felt Hunith’s eyes following them and knew that she was measuring him up, trying to decide if he was good enough for her beloved only child. He was under no illusions; he knew that she had worked out his feelings for Merlin within two hours of his arrival in Ealdor and he wanted to make a good impression on her, a desire that he had never had before. He had known that this talk (or would it be better described as an interrogation?) was imminent when he had woken up this morning. He and Merlin were sharing a pallet and series of blankets on the floor in front of the hearth with Hunith taking the only bed, not that either he nor Merlin was complaining.

This morning he had woken up to a delightful sight; Merlin had cuddled up to him at some point in the night and they were now firmly entangled.  One of Merlin’s legs was wrapped around Gwaine’s hip and resting in between his legs while one of Gwaine’s arms was wrapped around Merlin’s waist, the other resting on his back. Merlin’s head lay on Gwaine’s shoulder and the knight couldn’t resist burying his nose in the wild mop. He had heard the sound of a throat being cleared and looked up to see Hunith stood there with a raised eyebrow disturbingly like Gaius’ (it was obviously a family trait). He had known then that his luck had run out.

Sure enough, as soon as they had finished breakfast, Hunith despatched Merlin off around the village with the potions and salves that Gaius had sent despite his protests, confident that seeing as he functioned as Gaius’ apprentice from time to time he was more than capable of dealing with the villages minor ailments. Before Merlin had scarcely been out of the house for a minute, Hunith had turned her unwavering gaze on him.

“Well then _Sir_ Gwaine. What are your intentions towards my son?”

Gwaine choked on thin air, he hadn’t expected her to be that blunt about things. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t play stupid with me young man; I wasn’t born yesterday. I know that you have feelings for Merlin and I want to know what you’re planning on doing.”

“I’m sorry.” Gwaine was more than a little bit bewildered. “What I’m planning on doing?”

“What you’re planning on doing with regards to your feelings towards my son. You are going to tell him aren’t you?”

“Shouldn’t you be warning me away from Merlin? You know ... telling me that I’m not good enough for him and all that rather than encouraging me? I’m rather confused.”

“I’m not convinced that you are good enough for him but seeing as Merlin feels the same way about you that you feel for him then I’m going to ensure that my son is happy. You’re going to have to make the first move though, Merlin won’t do anything.”

Through the open door they could hear Merlin’s voice drawing closer so Hunith got up and made her way round to Gwaine’s side. “Let me make things perfectly clear though. If you make Merlin unhappy in any way then they won’t be able to find your body by the time that I’m finished with you. Have I made myself perfectly clear?”

Gwaine just nodded, in a daze at having survived the force of nature that was Hunith and also her conviction that Merlin returned his feelings.

~*~

The trip back to Camelot wasn’t the same as the one they had made on their way to Ealdor. Gwaine had replayed Hunith’s words over and over in his head, constantly wondering if she was right. He was acting most out of character and analysing every single comment that he made to Merlin, wondering if he was being too outrageously flirtatious, wondering if he was overstepping the mark, wondering if he was making his feelings too obvious. He knew that he was acting awkwardly enough that Merlin was looking at him strangely; one of the downsides to the close nature of their friendship was that Merlin knew him too well. All he could do was hope that Merlin didn’t question him on his behaviour because he really didn’t want to discuss it. At least, not until he’d had the time to think about things without Merlin being close by; he never could think straight when Merlin was around. It was the reason that he’d ended up as a knight of Camelot in the first place, because he couldn’t say no to a fairly scrawny clumsy manservant with razor-fine cheekbones and expressive blue eyes who had captivated Gwaine from their first meeting.

Part of him knew that Hunith was right when she said that Merlin didn’t know anything but he wanted it to stay that way until he had made his decision as to what he was going to do. He had never thought that he would be relieved to see the citadel of Camelot towering in the distance ... once back in Camelot they would both be distracted by their duties and he would be able to work out what he was going to do without Merlin being there all the time distracting him.

~*~

Gwaine wasn’t remotely surprised when, upon their return to Camelot and once they’d had time to unpack, he’d been paid a visit by Arthur. 

“How was Ealdor?”

“It served its purpose and got me out of Camelot while Bors was here. It was a bonus in getting to spend time with Merlin as well; he didn’t keep getting dragged away to polish your armour or help Gaius. Didn’t expect to get threatened though.”

The curious look on Arthur’s face at Gwaine’s cryptic comment was unmistakeable and Gwaine decided to explain further, if only for someone else’s opinion. It wasn’t as though he could talk to any of the other knights and Arthur had at least met Hunith.

“Merlin’s mother doesn’t miss a trick does she? Fierce as well, like a mother bear protecting her young.”

Arthur raised an eyebrow. “Hunith? No, she doesn’t miss a trick.” He eyed Gwaine with no little amusement and equal curiosity. “Why do you refer to her as a mother bear? What on earth did she say to you?”

“It took her less than three hours to work out my feelings for Merlin. She took me aside halfway through the week and told me to do something about it. That Merlin felt the same way about me but that if I did anything to hurt him she’d kill me and chop my body into little pieces so that no-one could ever find them.”

“You do realise the same sentiment applies to me don’t you Gwaine? You may be one of my knights but Merlin is my closest friend. You hurt him and I’ll deliver you to Hunith bound and gagged myself. That may be after I’ve let Gaius use you to test his experiments on. Do you understand?”

“Aye, I understand.” 

“Good. I’ll see you at training first thing tomorrow morning Sir Gwaine.” Arthur was half-way through the door when he turned round and spoke again. “You do realise that you’re going to have to spell things out to him don’t you? Merlin won’t get subtle hints. If you want him, then just grab him and kiss him. Just don’t give me any details.”

As Arthur disappeared through the door, a wicked grin slid slowly onto Gwaine’s face as he processed Arthur’s words. This was one order that he definitely wouldn’t mind carrying out.

~*~

Gwaine was determined to try and bide his time, not to rush into things, despite the encouragement that he had been given by Hunith and Arthur. He’d wanted this for such a long time but equally, he cherished the friendship that he had with Merlin and didn’t want to lose it. Merlin had been, was, his first true friend and he was worried that any overtures he might make would destroy that friendship, despite Hunith’s conviction that Merlin felt the same for him.

The determination didn’t last long. Merlin was a walking talking temptation and two days later his resolve had cracked. That cracked resolve was what had resulted in Gwaine stood in the corridor that housed Arthur’s rooms waiting for Merlin to deliver Arthur’s breakfast planning to ambush him. The early morning start paid off as he heard the sound of footsteps accompanied by Merlin’s morning grumbling. Deciding to go with a stealth attack, he shot his arm out and snagged Merlin by the waist, pulling the skinnier man into his chest.

“Gwaine!” The exclamation was accompanied by the sound of Arthur’s breakfast crashing to the ground.

“Hello Merlin.” 

Ever so slowly, just so that he didn’t startle Merlin any further, he manoeuvred him so that he was sandwiched in between the wall and Gwaine. They were roughly the same height, although Gwaine was more muscled than Merlin, and Gwaine quite liked that. He pressed in closer, taking obvious pleasure in the way that Merlin’s pupils were blown with anticipated pleasure and the way that his breathing sped up. He did question whether or not to say anything else and decided to simply go with action. He leant in and kissed Merlin gently, keeping it unpressured, delighting in the way that Merlin whimpered softly and closed his eyes, even as he pressed a little bit closer. Apparently Hunith and Arthur (but he certainly wasn’t going to admit to that one) had been right and his feelings were reciprocated. He was determined not to rush things, determined to enjoy every minute of this _thing_ between them that had been a long time in coming.

Gwaine obligingly helped Merlin’s efforts to press closer along, wrapping an arm around Merlin’s waist and pulling him closer so that there was a scant inch between them. Merlin’s eyes were still shut and Gwaine thrilled at the picture long ebony lashes lying on creamy skin made, particularly when that skin was beautifully coloured by a slight flush. Unable to resist any longer he leant in the last necessary inch and claimed Merlin’s lips again. At first he kept it chaste but as Merlin slid his arms up to wrap around Gwaine’s neck and issued some of the most delicious noises that Gwaine had ever heard he could no longer keep himself in check. He used one hand to cup Merlin’s jaw and tilt his head just so in order to get precisely the right angle even as he ran his tongue experimentally over Merlin’s lower lip. Merlin indulged him and they engaged in a slow slide of lips and tongue that neither of them had any desire to hurry. As delightful as their first kiss had been, this was infinitely better.

Half an hour later, Gwaine smirked as he gave a dazed Merlin a gentle push down the corridor towards Arthur’s chambers. Courtesy of Gwaine’s surprise attack, he had no breakfast to deliver to Arthur. With the blush covering those stunning cheekbones, kiss-swollen lips, an impressive bruise at the base of his throat and patches of red decorating Merlin’s neck courtesy of his beard it was patently obvious what Merlin had been up to that had made him thoroughly late delivering Arthur’s breakfast, or rather the empty tray that had been carrying Arthur’s breakfast. 

It may have just been half an hour of kissing but it was well-worth braving the protective instincts and threats of Arthur and Hunith (and no doubt Gaius) ... especially if he was going to get more of those kisses. He set off for the training grounds whistling a jaunty tune. Arthur was guaranteed to be in a horrendous mood during training but maybe if he could steal a few kisses from Merlin then he wouldn’t mind so much ... the walk down to the training ground should be just enough time to come up with a few plots to get what he wanted.

**Author's Note:**

> If you would prefer to comment on LJ, you can do so [here](http://vix-spes.livejournal.com/57030.html)


End file.
